One of the best shows of North of England Blackface sheep at Hexham auction mart, ensured a buoyant trade throughout with a top price of £11,000 and shearling averages up £232 on the year.

Buyers from as far afield as Inverness to Devon were in attendance to see the first prize shearling ram from Selby Robson, Yatesfield, top the trade selling to Andy and Caroline Hunter, buying for their locally based Steel and Carrick flocks. He is by a £6500 Westhills and out of ewe by £3200 Toft House. Yatesfield also received £3600 from David Hope, Albierigg, for another by the £6500 Westhills with a £1300 Larg of Creetown mother.

There were more celebrations to come for the Yatesfield team, when shepherd Frank Hall, bagged the overall championship with a ram lamb, by a lamb on loan from Westhills, which is destined for Lanark, and out of a £1300 Larg of Creetown mother. He sold to the Robsons at Toft House for £2800.

Two shearlings sold at £6000, with the first from Neil Robson and sons David and Joey, Townshields being a son of £7500 Frank Hall, bred from a ewe by £5900 Townshields. He also headed home with the Hunters of Carrick and Steel.

Matching that £6000 price tag was the pen leader from John and Jonjo Pattinson's Hotbank flock, purchased by Dennis and Stuart Charlton, Whiteside. His pedigree features a home-bred son of an £18,000 Dudlees onto a ewe by a £13,000 Penpeugh ewe.

Hotbank's No 2 made £4000 selling to Gibsons of Thornton Tower. A direct son of the £18,000 Dudlees, his dam is by a £12,500 Toft House

Father and son duo, Philip and Dan Walton, Wanwood Hill, sold to a top of £5500 to Richard Thompson, buying on behalf of Clune Estates, Inverness. He is by the home-bred stock tup, Ov and out of a ewe by £9000 Toft House

Just behind, on £5000, Stu Robson of Toft house sold his first son off the £7500 Stell Green to Dennis and Patricia Yeats of Close. He is out of a ewe by a £1600 Yatesfield

The same home also received £3000 sale from Nick Walton, Cowdenburn and the Robsons of Townshields for a shearling son of a Penpeugh ram bred from a daughter of a £16,000 Wanwood Hill.

Father and daughter team of Geoff and Fiona Paxton, Greenleighton sold their best for £4500 to Toft House. The breeding behind this transaction includes a £2000 Westhills onto a ewe by £2600 Wanwood Hill.

Greenleighton also sold a son of an £1800 Wanwood Hill out of a ewe by a £7500 Burncastle, for £3000. He goes out to work at The Lamperts.

Top price for Andy and Caroline Hunter, Steel, was £3500 paid for a shearling son of an £11,000 Tody House purchased by Messrs Ridley, Shitlington Hall and Stu Robson, Toft House.

Just behind, on £3200, Steve McKay, Dudlees, sold a son of a £3200 Allanfauld, out of ewe by a £3200 Williamhope, from Peter Turnbull, Shepherds Croft, Pickering.

Another from the same home made £3000 to Jake Elder, Pottsdurtrees. He is by a son of a £7500 Williamhope and bred from a daughter of a Monkridge Hill loan.

averages: 248 shearling rams, £1091 (+£231.73 for the same number); 14 ram lambs, £580 (-£40.83 for two more).

OTHERLEADING prices

Shearling rams – £2800, Yatesfield; £2600 Wanwood Hill x2; £2500 Stell Green; £2400 Stell Green, Penpeugh, Whiteside; £2300 Stewartshields; £2200 Harsondale, The Lampert, Penpeugh; £2100 Whiteside; £2000 Edges Green, Whiteside x4.

Auctioneers: Hexham and Northern Marts